1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of hand tools and, more particularly, to hand shovels and, still more particularly, to hand shovels of the types used for filling sandbags for controlling the flow of water and preventing flooding and soil erosion.
2. Background Discussion
Sandbags are widely used throughout the entire world to control the flow of water, especially flood waters and to protect homes, businesses, lives and property from the ravages of flood waters. In the recent flooding in the Midwestern part of the United States in 1993 tens and probably hundreds of thousands of sandbags were used along the swollen Mississippi and other rivers for such purposes.
In addition, sandbags are used to control the flow of water, for example, to prevent destructive soil erosion and mud slides associated with heavy rains, especially after fires have denuded hillsides of soil-holding vegetation.
Obviously in times of such emergency conditions any type of implement capable of carrying and dumping sand or dirt into sandbags is used even if the implements are not efficient at the task and may be difficult and tiring to use. However, when hundreds or thousands of sandbags must be filled in a very short time to avert a disaster, it is important that the implements used to fill sandbags be efficient and comparatively easy to use, for example, even by unskilled homeowners, and are capable of rapidly filling sandbags. In this regard, it can be readily appreciated that if one individual could do the work of two in filling sandbags, the production of filled and ready to use sand bags would be greatly increased and that increased production could, in some cases, spell the difference between losing and saving lives and property.
For these and other reasons, the present inventors have invented an improved scoop apparatus by means of which an individual can easily and rapidly scoop up sand and/or dirt for the filling of sandbags.